LG is expanding the G7 family with two new devices announced today, the LG G7 One and the LG G7 Fit. Both devices run on older chipsets and seem to be the result of the company trying to do away with spare parts.
Perhaps the more interesting of the two is the LG G7 One, which is the company's first smartphone to be part of the Android One program, moving away from the interface typically found on its smartphones. The phone features an intriguing combination of flagship specs, older components, and other interesting choices.
It's powered by last year's Snapdragon 835 chipset, and it has only 32GB of internal storage. It also doesn't feature a dual-camera system on the back, but it does have a QHD+ display with a notch at the top. The handset will be powered by a 3000mAh battery.
Here's the full list of specs:
Chipset: Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 835 Mobile Platform
Display: 6.1-inch QHD+ 19.5:9 FullVision Super Bright Display (3120 x 1440)
Memory: 4GB LPDDR4x RAM / 32GB UFS 2.1 ROM / MicroSD (up to 2TB)
Camera:
– Rear: 16MP Standard Angle (F1.6 / 71°)
– Front: 8MP Wide Angle (F1.9 / 80°)Battery: 3000mAh
Operating System: Android 8.1 Oreo (Android One)
Size: 153.2 x 71.9 x 7.9mm
Weight: 156g
Network: LTE / 3G / 2G
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 a, b, g, n, ac / Bluetooth 5.0 BLE / NFC / USB Type-C 2.0 (3.1 compatible)
Color: New Aurora Black / New Moroccan Blue
Other: AI CAM† / Bright Camera / Boombox Speaker / Google Lens / 32-bit Hi-Fi Quad DAC / DTS: X 3D Surround Sound / IP68 Water and Dust Resistance / HDR10 / Google Assistant Key / Face Recognition / Fingerprint Sensor / Qualcomm Quick Charge™ 3.0 Technology / MIL-STD 810G Compliant / FM Radio
The device might still be fairly interesting to some users, depending on how it's priced. It does feature some high-end hardware, even if it's a little outdated by now, and it could be compelling for those who aren't willing to spend over $700 on a smartphone. The promise of fast Android updates thanks to Android One also adds some value to the proposition over the G7 ThinQ.
But if you thought it was a weird choice to use the Snapdragon 835 on a smartphone well into 2018, the G7 Fit will be even more mind-blowing. It's running on the two-year-old Snapdragon 821, but otherwise features decent specs, including - again - that QHD+ display with a notch, the Boombox Speaker introduced with the G7 ThinQ, and the AI camera features. LG says the smartphone aims to "bridge the gap between mid-range and flagship" smartphones, which seems to be accurate. Here are the specs:
Chipset: Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 821 Mobile Platform
Display: 6.1-inch QHD+ 19.5:9 FullVision Super Bright Display (3120 x 1440)
Memory:
– LG G7+ Fit: 4GB LPDDR4x RAM / 64GB UFS 2.1 ROM / MicroSD (up to 2TB)
– LG G7 Fit: 4GB LPDDR4x RAM / 32GB UFS 2.1 ROM / MicroSD (up to 2TB)Camera:
– Rear: 16MP Standard Angle (F2.2 / 76°)
– Front: 8MP Wide Angle (F1.9 / 80°)Battery: 3000mAh
Operating System: Android 8.1 Oreo
Size: 153.2 x 71.9 x 7.9mm
Weight: 160g
Network: LTE / 3G / 2G
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 a, b, g, n, ac / Bluetooth 4.2 BLE / NFC / USB Type-C 2.0 (3.1 compatible)
Color: New Aurora Black / New Platinum Gray
Other: New Second Screen / AI CAM / Boombox Speaker / Google Lens / QLens / 32-bit Hi-Fi Quad DAC / DTS: X 3D Surround Sound / IP68 Water and Dust Resistance / HDR10 / Face Recognition / Fingerprint Sensor / Qualcomm Quick Charge™ 3.0 Technology / MIL-STD 810G Compliant / FM Radio
Interestingly enough, despite seemingly being the weaker device, the G7 Fit will also offer a variant with 64GB of internal storage, which the G7 One does not. Perhaps more concerning is the fact that the phone runs on two-year-old silicon and isn't in the Android One program, so it seems unlikely it will get any major updates in the future.
Neither device has a suggested price point as of yet, but LG would need to price them very competitively for them to be worth a look. A strange mix of older hardware and features from its current flagships could work if the company delivers on the promise of "exceptional" pricing.
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